Like I’ve said before, “resolutions” are useless. Goals are quantitative, can be tracked, and have deadlines. I welcomed the new year with some intentions, and set a few life and fitness goals. But it took three weeks of running pretty consistently before I decided I wanted to make running a priority this year. I want to increase my distance, I want to improve my endurance, I want to negate my splits, and I want to run faster. Point blank, I want to be a better runner.
I’ve never used my disability as an excuse not to try. I’ve never been that person who says, “I know I won’t be the best, I’m only doing it to finish, so I will just do the minimum to get it done.” I’ve always tried to run well. I want to run, but I’m not discouraged if I am not as good as others because I understand my body may not ever be at the same level as others physically. My muscles are weak, and that’s ok. I will still be happy as long as I’m pushing myself to be the best runner I can be.
But I’ve gotta keep pushing. Instead of spreading myself thin between yoga, HIIT, hoop dance, poi spinning, weight lifting, toddler chasing, and cartwheels in the yard (ok, I might not need to drop all of those, and probably don’t have a choice on some), I’m going to focus on achieving my goals in the activities where I see a trackable result. I am going to focus on running, and becoming the best runner I can be, before I can’t run anymore.
Flashback to the summer of 2016 when I broke all three of my PRs (as tracked by my Garmin Forerunner. I had run a 7:30 mile according to the Nike Fit app a few years prior, but that isn’t as accurate and I would not the Garmin accuracy backing up my claims). In May, I ran walked the TROT Wildflower Half 10k, which was my longest recorded run. (I had previously hiked in the Adirondack Mountains, but those are not for speed. Those are for beauty.) Two months later, I ran the Lunar Rendezvous 5k in record time, winning an Age Group Award and crushing two of my PRs.
2016 Personal Bests:
- 1 mile: 8:37
- 5K: 29:09
- Furthest: 6.96 miles
I’ve currently been setting my pacer at 9:50 mile, but finish the first lap in just over 9 minutes. I’m not pushing myself, I am comfortable. I’ve been working on trying to keep the three splits consistent instead of racing out and dropping to a 13:00 on lap three. Which, I’m been pretty consistent with. So I am going to rededicate a portion of my training towards short distances and speed (dropping my one mile), and also endurance and consistency in splits (for my 5k). I also want to participate in a quarter marathon, and at least three 10k races. No PR on a 10k yet, since the only one I’ve officially ran was mostly walked, thanks to nerves. I can still hear the other runner’s voice in my head telling the RD “I think I passed out”. This year is 10k redemption.
2017 Goals:
- 1 mile: 8:15
- 5K: 26:00
- Furthest: 9 miles
Next step is to plan out my race calendar! I am, of course, going to have at least 12 races (one per month), but I need to also plan out based on distances, whether I will have Baby Ginger in the Tula, and if I plan to run for a PR or Award. Lots of work go into working hard!
